Color Change
by Killjoy66293
Summary: Erik is helping Kowalski in his lab when something goes terribly wrong! T for mild violence.


**Note:**Just a short fic I wrote a while ago. I know I haven't posted something in quite a while. A lot has happened. I'll post chapter 5 of Unbalanced Breath when its done. I hope some of you have stuck with me, but I'd understand if you didn't. Anyway, Enjoy the story!

**Color Change**

Erik had been at the zoo for over 2 months now and everybody was happy with that. Things slipped back into the pattern of normalcy where Skipper would sit at the table, read the newspaper, and drink his coffee, Private would sit on the couch and watch his favorite show, "The Lunicorns", Rico would sit in the far corner and comb his doll's hair, and Kowalski would work on an experiment in his lab.

Today, however, was different because Erik was assisting Kowalski with the experiment. Erik had no problem with this because he had been around Kowalski long enough to trust him.

"This experiment," Kowalski began. "Is going to change everything!"

"What will it do?" Erik asked interested.

Kowalski pointed to the little rocks that sat on the desk in front of them. "These small rocks are made of mercury. What they will do is they will make anybody who comes into contact with them forget everything from the past 3 months or more!"

Erik gave Kowalski an unsatisfied look and said, "I'm sorry, but how is that going to be helping you guys?"

Kowalski thought it over for a moment, then continued, "I don't know for the moment, but let's just continue, shall we?"

Erik gave a gesture with his wing signaling for him to go on. "Okay, put on your rubber gloves. We are going to put these in that tray over there." He pointed to the area across the room. "However, if you drop them. It will cause them to explode and release a deadly gas into the room. Since the door is locked, that would not be a good thing. So, be very careful."

Kowalski slipped on his rubber gloves and picked a hand full of them. Erik did the same and they began to carry the rocks across the room. Suddenly a knock on the door startled them causing them to drop all the rocks. As the rocks fell, Kowalski rushed to the door, opened it then closed it in Erik's face.

Erik tried to open it again, but it was jammed. _This is it_, Erik thought. _I'm going to die because of a selfish friend and an experiment gone wrong. _He watched as the strange gas creped towards him. Erik quickly moved to the farthest corner of the room and sat there. Awaiting his doom.

When the deadly gas finally reached him, his eyes began to burn causing tears to fall and he began to choke from not having oxygen. It felt as if knives were being shoved down his throat and his eyes were melting from their sockets. Seconds later, Erik passed out and everything went black.

When Erik woke up, he was laying on the couch. He tried to move, but couldn't. He looked around the room to find somebody to help him, but the only one that was there was Skipper. Erik tried to call to him, but his voice failed. He tried again, but it caused him to get into a coughing fit. Skipper noticed this and immediately rushed to his side.

Skipper actually looked concerned for Erik. He had that genuine look that said so. After a few moments, Skipper asked, "How do you feel?" Of course Erik couldn't answer, but he mouthed the words, "What happened?"

"You and Kowalski were working on an experiment. Then, you dropped these special rocks that released a gas that made you pass out and…" Erik had a confused look on his face. He mouthed, "And…?"

Skipper didn't want to finish the sentence. He knew Erik wouldn't like it. Erik mouthed, "What?"

Right at that moment, Kowalski and the others opened the fishbowl entrance and hopped down the ladder. As soon as Erik spied Kowalski, he leaped from the couch and tackled him before anybody could stop him.

Kowalski was surprised, but threw him off. Erik quickly got up, driven by his adrenaline, and began to attack. When Erik arrived at the zoo, they decided to teach him how to fight and now he was better than everybody except Skipper.

They kept fighting until Kowalski asked, "Erik, what is this all about? Why are you fighting me?"

He tried to speak, but still couldn't. He quit fighting and ran into Kowalski's lab. He came back with a pencil and a piece of paper. He began writing on it. "Read and follow." Kowalski nodded and Erik continued to write. "Skipper won't tell me, but what did you do to me?" He signaled he wanted to know at that second by shoving Kowalski to the nearest wall and staring him straight in the eye.

Kowalski was genuinely scared. Erik could see it in his eyes. Kowalski finally answered, "Okay! The failed experiment changed your eye color, beak color and made you temporarily lose your voice and to have temporary paralysis."

Erik thought for a second, _how am I standing?_ As the thought perished, so did the adrenaline that kept him going. He immediately dropped Kowalski and collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily.

"Quick! Rico! Help me get him back to the couch!" Skipper said as he began to pick up Erik and carry him to the couch. They laid him down gently and stood around him. Erik pointed to the table. Private knew what he meant and brought him the piece of paper and pencil. This time it was on a clipboard." Kowalski," he wrote. "I'm sorry for snapping like that, but I thought it was something more serious. I was scared that I might never fight again or something like that. So, again, I'm sorry."

After Kowalski read what he wrote, he answered, "It's okay Erik. It was my fault because I shouldn't be working on something like that. So, I'm sorry." Kowalski shook his wing, and then Erik began writing again. "How long will it be until I get my voice and movement back?"

"Probably during the night or sometime tomorrow. You just need to rest. When you wake up tomorrow, you will be very sore from the muscles that you used when you were fighting me."

"Can you hand me a mirror?" He wrote. Rico coughed up a mirror and gave it to him. Erik stared at the puffin in the reflection. He definitely didn't recognize him. The puffin he used to know had ocean blue eyes and a regular puffin beak. The one in the reflection had glowing red eyes and a jet-black beak.

Erik couldn't believe what he was now. A freak. A strange bird. A monster. As he thought this, hot tears began to pour down his face, matting his feathers. Erik began to sob uncontrollably into the couch. He just couldn't take it.

Private took a seat beside him and hugged him. He whispered in the puffin's ear, "Its okay. Everything is going to be alright." As this continued, Kowalski felt more and more guilty, like it was his fault. Technically it was his fault. When Erik dropped the rocks, Kowalski ran out the door and jammed it so the gas wouldn't leak out into the HQ. When he was safe, he realized, Erik was still in there! It was too late though; Erik was already coughing and had passed out. They got him out later when they got the hazard suits on. But, they were surprised to find him still alive.

Apparently, Erik had forgotten that part. So, Kowalski decided to tell him now while he was paralyzed. "Uh… Erik. Do you recall when this happened?" Erik shook his head yes. "Uh…. There might have been a chance that this is my fault." Erik looked at him curiously, but not really liking where this was going. "Well, when you dropped the rocks… I rushed out of the room and left you in there to, well… die."

When Kowalski finished his sentence, a wave of realization hit Erik. He suddenly remembered exactly what happened. He felt a bitter anger for Kowalski; He felt like he wanted to kill him, but he knew that wouldn't be right. More tears began to fall from Erik, but he did not sob. He motioned with his wing for them to leave him alone. When they left and they were topside, Erik wrote a note to Kowalski saying that he didn't blame him for what happened and he forgives him for what he did. He then lay down on the couch and cried himself to sleep; sad that he will never be normal again.

When the boys came back to the HQ, they found Erik fast asleep on the couch. Skipper felt the couch and felt something wet. Skipper said, "Kowalski, analysis."

Kowalski came over and felt the wetness beside Erik's head. He hung his head immediately knew what it was. "It's his tears, sir." Skipper looked solemnly to the young puffin, feeling sorry for him.

Suddenly, when Private looked over at the bunks, he noticed a note in Kowalski's. "Kowalski, look!" Private took the note and gave it to Kowalski. As he read it, tears slipped down his face.

"Kowalski, what does it say?" Skipper asked curiosity scratching at his voice.

"It's from Erik saying he forgives me for what I did and he didn't blame me for what happened." More tears fell from Kowalski's eyes as he read further. "It also says that he is in some pain and wants some pain killers."

"Alright then, boys. Let's go get some from the vet's office. Move out!" The boys headed out to get the medicine and Kowalski stayed back to a second to write a note back to Erik. When Erik would wake up, he would read it and see for himself what it says and what he gets. Kowalski headed up the ladder to join his friends and think of the fun days to come.


End file.
